Halloween's Happening; School and Town Services To Return Oct. 31

A hard rain fell on and off for two days and winds whipped wildly as Hurricane Sandy pummeled the region for the better part of two days. 

As of late Tuesday night, power and phone issues linger in Lexington, where many trees and wires are still down and, according to NSTAR, more than 2,300 customers were without power as of 9 p.m. 

But the Lexington Public Schools will be back in session tomorrow, Oct. 31, and the administrative offices, along with Cary Memorial Library, the Lexington Senior Center and recreation programs will be open for a full day as well. 

Further, trash collection will continue on its "holiday week" schedule of a day later than the norm, and the local bus service, Lexpress, will be running, although detours on routes 1 and 5 are possible if roads have not been cleared, according to a town communication.

More good news: Halloween's happening. 

The Lexington Retailers Association's annual Trick or Treat with Local Businesses is still on for from 2 to 5 p.m. tomorrow, and night time trick-or-treating is a go, as well. Regarding the latter, given the road and sidewalk conditions, officials are advising that "parents should make sure trick-or-treaters are safe in the dark, and stay away from downed trees and wires."

Hurricane Sandy felt like it was hitting hardest on Monday, Oct. 29, but the downed limbs, trees and wires continued to take a toll deep into Tuesday. 

Reported power outages fluctuated some throughout the day, but the number was consistently above 2,000, according to NSTAR's outage map. A midday press release from Fire Chief John Wilson reported six streets blocked by fallen trees and power lines, forcing traffic detours at Mass Ave at Audubon, Lowell Street at 508 (near East Street); Grant Street at Sherman; Grove Street at Tidd Circle; Charles Street at Camden Street; and Shade Street.

Then, and now, it's important to remember to avoid downed wires and consider them all to be live. And, one more time, here's a few numbers to remember as phone and power problems persist: 

• Call NStar at 800-592-2000 for non-emergency outages, downed wires 
• Customers can contact Verizon at 1-800-VERIZON (1-800-837-4966) or online at www.verizon.com/support to report any service-related issue.
• As always, dial 911 for emergency. If you wish to receive Code Red messages in the event you lose phone service, consider registering your cell phone with the CodeRed link on the Police Department webpage.